And despite the general sentiment, he is in some sort of shape. Round.

Regardless, appearances would have hardly mattered had Lee played for better Astros teams.

Lee is in the last season of a six-year, $100 million contract, having signed here as a free agent when the ballclub had championship aspirations. Seems like a generation ago, doesn’t it?

Lee was from another Astros world. He is the only starting position player remaining from the 2008 squad. Wandy Rodriguez is the only pitcher from that year who remains on the roster.

No doubt Lee has received unfair criticism. He never lashed out. Some took that as if he didn’t care about winning. That wasn’t the case.

It is merely a coincidence that prior to Lee’s arrival the Astros had finished below second place in their division only once in the previous 13 years, with six postseason appearances. Not all of those seasons were special years, mind you, but overall, life was good.

It was not Lee’s fault the franchise fell apart. It wasn’t his fault Drayton McLane decided saving money was more important than winning baseball games. And it was not Lee’s fault he was the highest-paid player on the worst team in baseball.

But somehow he became the face of the Astros’ futility.

He had his moments

It would be unjust to ignore that in his first three years here, Lee hit 86 homers and drove in more than 100 runs each year. He was a key member of the 2008 squad that went 86-75, hitting a team-leading .314 with 28 homers and 100 RBIs.

He wasn’t moving any faster then than he is in 2012, and he exited the team hitting .286, which coincidentally matches his career average in 14 major league seasons.

Aside from being a financial drain and among the fans’ least-favorite players, Lee hasn’t helped matters with this season’s inexplicable power drought.

Lee has only five home runs in 255 at-bats this season, a ratio of one homer for every 51 at-bats. In his first four seasons with the Astros, Lee went deep once every 20 at-bats on average.

Lee has been known as “El Caballo” for years. But he hasn’t been a horse, someone who could carry an offense, for some time.

The Astros have wanted to take him out back and put him out of their misery for several years, but he was nearly impossible to trade, and it would have been inhumane treatment of McLane’s bank account to just pay him off.

The new regime faced a similar dilemma.

Take my word for it, rookie owner Jim Crane was more upset at having to take on Lee’s contract when he bought the team than he was about being bullied by Major League Baseball to move to the American League. At least MLB paid him $50 million to take the abuse. Lee was an $18.5 million albatross on the books.

It took near amazing work for general manager Jeff Luhnow to find a team willing to trade much of anything for Lee. Somehow, Luhnow found two such teams.

A trade with the Dodgers fell through Sunday when L.A. pulled the deal off the table while Lee was contemplating whether to waive his no-trade clause. Did I mention he moves a little slow?

Kudos to Luhnow

On Wednesday, Luhnow got the Marlins to send a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old for the 36-year-old Lee, infielder Matt Dominguez, a 2007 first-round pick who once was the Marlins’ top minor league prospect, and lefthanded pitching prospect Rob Rasmussen, a second-round pick in 2010.

That is impressive. Even if the Astros have to pay almost all of Lee’s remaining $9 million salary this season, they got a bargain.

At the very least, they’ve put an end to the confusion over slow rollers up the line.

jerome.solomon@chron.com

twitter.com/jeromesolomon

Photo: Alan Diaz / Associated Press

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The Marlins would turn out to be Carlos Lee's last team before retiring in June of 2013.

The Marlins would turn out to be Carlos Lee's last team before retiring in June of 2013.

Photo: Alan Diaz / Associated Press

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Carlos Lee was traded to the Miami Marlins three days after a potential deal to the Dodgers fell through, ending his 5 1/2-year tenure with the Astros.

Carlos Lee was traded to the Miami Marlins three days after a potential deal to the Dodgers fell through, ending his 5 1/2-year tenure with the Astros.

Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

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Carlos Lee has a nickname "El Caballo", which means "The Horse."

Carlos Lee has a nickname "El Caballo", which means "The Horse."

Photo: Eric Christian Smith / For the Chronicle

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Carlos Lee's big bat was a big reason the Astros signed him to a monster contract.

Carlos Lee's big bat was a big reason the Astros signed him to a monster contract.

Photo: Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle

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Carlos Lee is known for his offense.

Carlos Lee is known for his offense.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle

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Carlos Lee had a productive first year for the Astros, hitting .303 with 32 home runs and driving in 119 runs.

Carlos Lee had a productive first year for the Astros, hitting .303 with 32 home runs and driving in 119 runs.

Photo: Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle

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On November 24, 2006, Carlos Lee agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract with the Astros.

On November 24, 2006, Carlos Lee agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract with the Astros.